98424: He has manufactured items in the shape of animals; can he melt them down and make use of them?

I am in a business of selling animals along with other things made out of marble. I recently discovered that it is haram and inshaAllah i am going to get out of this business right away, can you tell what i need to do with the inventory of marble animals i have, do i need to destroy it or can i liquidate it or give it away.

Published Date: 2007-06-10

Praise be to Allaah.

It is not permissible to
manufacture figures and sculptures in the form of animate beings, such as
people, birds and animals, because of the stern warning that has been issued
against that, such as the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): “The makers of these images will be punished in the Day
of Resurrection and it will be said to them: Give life to that which you
have created.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7557) and Muslim (210).

And he (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The people who will be most severely
punished on the Day of Resurrection will be the image-makers.” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari (5950) and Muslim (2109).

Whoever has any sculptures
which have any inherent value, such as if they are made of copper, bronze or
marble, should not destroy them, rather he should melt them down and make
use of them.

In Sunan al-Tirmidhi
(2806), Abu Dawood (4158) and elsewhere it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Jibreel came to me and said: I
was going to come to you last night, and nothing prevented me from entering
the house where you were except the fact that at the door of the house there
was a statue of a man. In the house there was a curtain on which there were
images, and there was a dog in the house.

So order that the head of
the statue that is at the door be cut off, so that it will become like a
tree, and order that the curtain be cut up and made into two pillows that
will be thrown on the floor and stepped over, and order that the dog be
taken out.

The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did that. That dog was a
puppy belonging to al-Hasan or al-Husayn, that was beneath a bed, and he
ordered that it be taken out. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

It says in Sharh
al-Sunnah: This indicates that if the form of an image is changed by
cutting off its head or dismantling its parts so that nothing is left of it
except a few pieces and an incomplete image, there is nothing wrong with it,
and if it is cut into pieces it is permissible to use it. End quote from
al-Mubaarakfoori in al-Tuhfah.

It says in al-Mawsoo’ah
al-Fiqhiyyah (12/125): That which is made with haraam images, if any use
can be made of it, then the images should be distorted in such a way that it
is no longer haraam, and it does not need to be destroyed altogether. End
quote.